Landscapes / Cityscapes

Join us for the opening reception of the new exhibition at SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art, 1527 N. Ashland Avenue in Chicago. 

The next exhibition at SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is called Landscapes / Cityscapes. It features Filipina American artist, Tita Brady-Recometa who resides in Joliet, Illinois and Chicagoan, Jill Kolker. The exhibition runs from Friday, Feb 2 through Saturday, March 16, 2024.

Tita Recometa-Brady’s academic training in fine arts includes a bachelor’s degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and a master of fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her signature style is paintings on round canvases to reflect in part that we are all bound together in what she calls a Circle of Existence. She is fascinated to work in this form as she subdivides a circle with a chord, then starts freely on an arc on the circumference, and uses radius to balance the elements of the design. Recometa-Brady’s paintings in the current exhibition feature several works from her Sun, Land, City series. They are images of the Sun as the silent witness to the takeover of Lands, and their eventual transformation into Cities. The paintings examine the promise of “progress” and its effects on the natural environment. We also feature paintings from her Word series. They contain beautiful designs that bring out the meaning of a word. The complete set of paintings are reprinted with inspirational quotes in her Art-Word book, "IF NOT NOW, WHEN?” which will also be at the gallery for viewing and purchase. 

Jill Kolker has been creating mixed media paintings and collages out of her home and studio on the north side of Chicago for many years. She believes that art is a powerful conduit for sharing our thoughts and ideas. Her multimedia artworks feature texture, color and collage. She works with acrylic paint, molding paste, and imagery on wood panels. Jill briefly studied graphic design at Drake University. She then took art classes in the community for 10 years to enhance her technique and find her personal style. After that she began working at the Highland Park Art Center where she deepened her knowledge of texture and the many other techniques she uses in her current work. Kolker’s artworks, with their grid designs and scenes of people of all walks of life, evoke cityscapes that show in contrast to the lush landscapes of Tita Recometa-Brady’s paintings. Both artists’ work contain geometric details and color that bring them together in a visual display that enables the viewer to reflect on how rural and urban environments are complementary and part of an interdependent world.